188: Current State of Information Deficiency

"Then, we'll remain at the Third Prime Colony until circumstances change. If anything arises, please let us know."

"Noted. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation."

The effort to counter the cosmic monster Magatsuki had begun.

Yet, in the end, I'm just an outsider... or rather, even if Vilijanira actively moves, she'd only be in the way.

As a result, we ended up staying primarily in the Third Prime Colony.

"So, Satu. Is there any kind of mod designed to counter Magatsuki?"

And upon my transfer back, these were the words that came from Vilijanira.

Now, a mod for countering Magatsuki...

"We've started preliminary development, but it's not going well. The potential targets are limited to the types of OS we can infer from Magatsuki's known modules—those that control opponents' bodies or generate disposable alternate spaces for movement."

"I see."

Unfortunately, we still haven't created anything that could truly be considered a countermeasure.

Even the ones that seem promising are only "seemingly" effective—there's still no clear proof they actually work.

The lack of sufficient sample data is simply the biggest obstacle.

"Guess it's really troublesome that the opponent isn't primarily organic but purely inorganic?"

"There's some truth to that. Even though they're both cosmic monsters, when their elemental compositions are completely different, it's hard to make sense of a lot of it."

"They're fundamentally different at the core. Plus, that sword clearly shows signs of human craftsmanship—probably means someone's been meddling with it somewhere."

"There's a chance that could be true, and there's also a chance it isn't. We just don't have enough information right now."

Magatsuki takes the shape of a sword.

Was it originally a sword-shaped alien creature, or did it start out as something else—perhaps a rock-like alien creature that someone shaped into this form? Or maybe it was just a regular sword that, through some hidden force, transformed into a mock alien creature, and over time, became a genuine one.

It's hard to tell what's correct, since any of those possibilities could be true and might affect the OS configuration in different ways.

"By the way, Master Sata. Are Master Sata's Aether Space and Magatsuki's Alternate Dimension separate from each other?"

"No. It's just that there's insufficient data to determine whether they're always separate or just happened to be separate this time. There's even a possibility that my main body's location could be detected and attacked as a result. I've already set up defensive measures to prevent that from happening."

"I see. One more thing—does Magatsuki's Alternate Dimension always remain the same?"

"There's insufficient data. If we could see the mod configuration when it entered the next alternate dimension, we might be able to make some judgment, but at present, we can only say it's impossible to determine."

As for Magatsuki's alternate dimension, the only thing we currently know is that it's disposable.

Still, judging from the reaction of the 'Hetero Mirror,' it seems that Magatsuki's own will—or OS activity—is essential to establish a connection between the alternate dimension and the real space.

The easiest option would be sticking to a specific disposable alternate dimension.

In that case, we might even be able to set traps within the alternate dimension from our side.

Well, I'll prepare just in case it works out—better to be safe than sorry.

"Hey, I'll ask you something too, Vee. How do you see Magatsuki through your eyes?"

"……"

I turn to Vilegianira with my question.

Then Vilijaniira made a troubled expression before speaking.

At this point, we perceive no threat.

No threat?

No, no, that doesn't make sense, does it?

I see. So it's just a single sword after all.

My initial reaction to Viridiana's words was the same as Johari's.

But I was able to understand it in Memokushi's words.

"Yeah, I see. Magatsuki's just someone who hijacks people, kills them, and uses distorted spaces to escape... but that also means that's all they can do."

"U-uh... in terms of threat level, they're basically just a sudden, close-range killer—pretty dangerous if they attack right away, but unless they're targeting someone really important, they wouldn't cause a crisis across an entire star system, right?"

That's exactly right. And judging by Lord Sata's words, there didn't seem to be any incompetent individuals in the upper ranks of the Shiblasmis system who would become careless or greedy, thus failing to remain vigilant.

That's exactly right. Therefore, regarding the exploration of Magatsuki, I don't believe we would react unless the situation had progressed to the point where I personally encountered the incident site.

Magatsuki is a cosmic monster.

Yet, if no one is holding it, it might be questionable whether one could even move their body with this single blade.

If that's the case... well, in that case, the threat assessment might indeed not be triggered unless the situation dragged on for an extremely long time, just as in Vilijanira's foresight...

In a way, that could be considered a poor match.

"I suppose I could at least scan through space, looking for any drifting Magatsuki..."

"That's something mechanical intelligence should handle, Lord Vee."

"Indeed."

In fact, for a simple observation like this, it would be utterly impossible for Vilegianira to do it alone.

Yeah, it really does feel like we can't do anything until the situation changes.

"Hmm, I guess we really just have to wait."

"Yes, I believe that's our only option."

"I wish someone else—someone not us—would suddenly come up with a brilliant idea and quickly resolve this mess."

"We agree with Lord Johalis. It would be easier for us memos this way."

For now, they all nodded in agreement with Johalis's words.

If it means less effort, then that's definitely better.